


In writing

by nyargles



Category: Protector of the Small - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 17:32:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/600344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyargles/pseuds/nyargles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dom said that Neal had written to him so often about Kel that it felt like he knew her. These are some of the exchanges Dom and Neal have between the Immortals War up to the start of The Protector of the Small</p>
            </blockquote>





	In writing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jessikast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessikast/gifts).



> Dear Jessikast, 
> 
> My deepest apologies for actually including... well, nothing from your Yuletide letter. *facepalms* I hope you like it anyway?

**452 HE, February**

Neal,

How are you holding up? Would have written sooner, but the dispatch only just came through. The Own can't get time off for funerals, especially not when we're at war so I won't be there. Give my love to aunt and uncle for me.

Dom

 

-

**452 HE, March**

Dom,

How's life in the Own? You might have already heard, but I'm starting page training. Try not to laugh too much at the thought when you read this.

Neal

 

- 

**452 HE, March**

Neal,

Don't make requests you know I shan't honour. I got promoted to sergeant by the way. I was going to tell the family but your news is probably all they'll be able to talk about for the next month. I should have seen it coming I suppose. You never could resist an opportunity to make everyone pay attention to you. I'll bet the university masters are glad you're gone. I'll come by the next time we're actually at the palace to laugh at you in person.

Is this because of Graeme and Rickard? You don't have to be a knight. No one's going to be upset if you aren't one, least of all uncle.

All my love,

Dom

 

- 

**452 HE, April**

Dom,

When you start signing letters with things like 'all my love', I know you're worried about me. Paging is tiring business. I'm in better shape than all the other beginners and I'm still half dead. I'm not sure I could have done this if I'd started at 12. At least all the academics are things I've already covered at the university; the hardest thing about it is staying awake long enough to hear what the assigned work is.

There are some right pillocks masquerading as pages. Apparently, hazing of new first years is a thing that happens from the older ones. Of course it is. They didn't quite know how to react to me though, being taller and older than most of them and all. Being the eldest son of father helped too. They tried to order me around a bit, but I said _no_ and they didn't seem sure how to respond. What ridiculousness.

Congratulations on your battle by the way. There's quite a fanfare over your brush with giants in the capitol. The castle has emptied out; only those of us who have to be here still are. Everyone's gone back to their own lands to deal with the immortals. Stay safe. Try not to die, it'll be terribly embarrassing now you've fought a giant. 

Neal

 

-

**452 HE May**

Neal,

You do realise that the stories you hear are likely to be exaggerated by the time they reach the palace? Fortunately, Lord Raoul did most of the fighting with the giants. Or, I should say, dealing with the giants because we ended up not having to fight them all. One of them fell a bit in love with him. You should have seen his face when he realised that she was trying to get a handle on his nether regions and not crush his ribs into gravy.

She was relatively small for a giantess but fierce as a lion. It was possibly harder trying to convince her that Raoul was not interested than it would have been to kill her... They would have made a lovely couple, I'm sure. They would have had the most enormous babies, bushy hair everywhere.

Aside from giants, we've been seeing the most bizarre collection of creatures. Winged horses like in the legends of old, except for the bit where they have razor-sharp teeth and eat man meat... Also, these things called spidrens like enormous spiders with human faces that also, you've guessed it, eat man meat. They can talk too. It's harder pretending that these are vicious creatures when they clearly have minds and thoughts of their own. The palace must have seen its fair share of creatures by now too?

Try to stay alive. It'd be silly for you to go and die now you're actually in a career path where you learn how to defend yourself.

Dom

 

-

**452 HE June**

My dearest Dom,

As expansive as your experience with immortal creatures has doubtless been, toiling away at the forefront of the battlefield, I can't help but notice that you haven't mentioned one particular creature. We've had a dragon appear. That was rather fun.

Of course, we've seen some others too. The hurrocks attacked and Lord Wyldon fended them off the royal babies. He's been even more of a misery and a stump to work with since then. He refuses to have his injuries from that fight healed, saying something about how real warriors endure pain. I'm insulted on father's behalf although father just sighs and leaves it alone; who has to talk a healer into _not_ healing them?

At least he isn't denying the rest of us healings too. It's got bad enough that squires and even pages have been taking up arms to defend the palace, especially with all the forces spread thin. I almost wish I'd stayed on at the university, but there's nothing quite like lifting a sword to know you're protecting your country. I'm sounding patriotic – stop me before I start waxing poetic about Tortall's virtues!

I'm leaving this for you since I know you're on your way back to the capitol. Just like you to be late for all the important things.

Neal

 

-

_Pushed under Neal's room in the page's wing:_

 

Meathead,

Kindly never address me as your dearest anything _ever again_. That is a truly horrifying thought. I'm coming to find you in your free time and you are telling me about this dragon.

D

 

-

_Tacked to Dom's horse's saddle:_

What free time?

 

-

**452 HE, end of June**

Dom,

I'm spending the summer in Queenscove. Father's staying in the capitol to help with the aftermath of the war and needs someone to see firsthand how much damage the immortals did to the duchy. We need to gather the headsmen too, to come up with some combat solutions against the spidrens and centaurs that have settled in.

What father didn't say when he suggested it quietly was that he needs me to learn how to govern too, and quickly. I am – was – third son. I never needed to know the ins and outs of how to run a duchy, let alone one as big as Queenscove. I'm too young for this, Dom, and I have to catch up on Graeme's lifetime of training. Wish I'd paid more attention in mathematics class now.

On the other hand, my sudden elevation to oldest son has been doing wonders for my court social status.

Neal

 

-

**452 HE, July**

Neal,

Dear gods, I can't even imagine you in charge of anything. If the Black God had known that taking your brothers meant leaving you in charge he surely wouldn't have done it. You don't have to worry too much though. Uncle has years to go, seeing how he doesn't even have grey hairs yet.

You're a fifteen year old page, meathead. Your court social status is probably jester.

Dom

 

PS. You'll be fine.

 

-

**452 HE, August**

Dom,

Your court social status is nonexistent.

 

-

**452 HE, August**

Dom,

This duchy is so much bigger than I remembered it. I haven't been 'home' in so long. Now all my slacking skills in page classes have been thoroughly ruined as I have learned more than I could have imagined in three short weeks.

Neal

 

-

**452 HE, August**

Neal,

Never have I been more glad that we are related through my mother's side.

Since you've been out of touch with the capitol, I have some rumours for you! There's finally going to be a girl page. Her family are some sort of important diplomats, although I don't recognise the name at all. Do you know where Mindelan is? There's been all sorts of blow-ups from it and you need to get back so you can ask uncle and then tell me.

Dom

 

-

**452 HE, August**

Dom, 

You are an insufferable gossip. Father says that the stump is displeased. He means that the stump is raging over the very idea of having a girl within ten feet of the pages of course. The King compromised, if you can call it that, by saying that Sir Alanna can't go near her, so Lioness has left the palace and Corus. No one knows where she's gone or for how long (or if they do, they're taking her side and keeping mighty quiet about it).

There's all sorts of mutterings about the King going back on his word behind his back and all sorts of shoutings from the conservatives about how he's dooming the future of Tortall to his face. What great fun! The stump is so angry that he might even forget about me for a bit.

There's a page and squire betting pool on how long she's going to last. Poor thing, she's going to get completely ruined when she gets here. I'll let you know more when training starts up again.

Neal


End file.
